Page 28 of The Unseen Hour (The Unseen Hour Duology #1)

D eath.

At least this deity was one I was familiar with. The other countries of Rayus had their own ideas as to how many deities there were and how they divided up tasks. I was kicking myself for not being more of a religious scholar, because then I’d be aware of particulars.

I knew I’d been wrong in regards to the number, but it was somehow reassuring to find out the god I’d been beseeching in my prayers was more than just a figment of my imagination, even if history had neglected to mention she was a goddess .

The people of Emrys had thought themselves cursed by Death, or abandoned by Death, but we’d all hoped we could also be saved by Day or Death.

Maybe that was still possible.

“Pleased to make your acquaintance.” I dipped into a curtsy, responding on impulse as the reality of what Orion had said hit me and trying to correct my earlier, more casual greeting.

The deity smiled at me with perfectly straight white teeth.

“I hope you don’t mind my barging in on what looks like a pleasant afternoon. I had some business with Charon and thought I’d stop by to see Orion. A living Shade is such an intriguing concept, after all.”

“I thought Orion said that you and Charon were at odds.”

There went my attempt at formality. I threw a hand over my mouth.

Death laughed, the sound musical like chimes in a garden.

“We certainly are that. The others and I are often at one another's throats. It would be more concerning if any of us could die. After all, among six deities there are bound to be occasional squabbles.”

“Six!” I exclaimed.

“Yes. Five boisterous men, and me. Hardly fair, is it?” She leaned even closer, and I got the distinct feeling she was winking at me from behind the mask.

I grinned, drawn in immediately.

“It is exhilarating to see another woman in a position of such authority, even if the purview is a bit?—”

“Macabre?” Death supplied.

I grimaced.

“Yes. I would say that.” I still had no desire to upset a god, but Death was charming. As much as anyone I’d ever come across in Emrys. It was also exciting to have someone else to talk to who would answer back.

Frowning, I turned to Orion.

“I thought you said Charon was using the Shades under the noses of the other deities. If Death is aware of what he’s doing …”

Death laughed again.

“Charon does not know that I know. When I meet with him, I summon him to my own realm. As fun as it is being worshipped across Rayus, we each have our own space to escape to. I invite Charon, and that’s when I pop down here, knowing he’s stewing over how long I’m keeping him waiting.

It’s best to do your snooping when you know you won’t be interrupted, wouldn’t you say? ”

That was something on which I agreed with her. I beamed at the deity.

“Call this a hunch, Celia, but I think you and Orion are going to help create a very interesting event. Very interesting indeed,” she said conspiratorially.

I set my shoulders back, barely daring to breathe and determined not to look away. Death was so close that the hairs on my arms stood on end from her static. As if lightning might strike again at any moment.

Strange, I always pictured the embrace of Death as a chilled, empty thing. Not a striking, warm surge of power.

It didn’t create the same comfort as Orion, particularly not when Death began to circle me.

“Orion here has been helping to gather some information for me ever since I discovered my brother’s little attempted coup. Perhaps you’d like to join him? I could make it worth your while. There must be something you want.”

My father. My father and a guarantee that my plan to get home would work. But something even bigger shoved its way in front of those concerns. If I did get him back, I never wanted to risk losing those I loved to the hour again.

My father had tried to get to the Ether because he wanted to protect his entire family. I would do the same. I’d protect everyone, if I could.

“Could you end the Unseen Hour?”

Death smiled.

“I am already attempting that. That’s what I’ve been working toward, and why I’ve enlisted Orion’s help. Now that you’re here, I think we might just stand a chance. I will, however, have to put some thought into our methods. If you help, how could I repay you personally? ”

A generous god. I doubted even more that she had been the one to curse us, or had any involvement in Charon’s actions. Did gods who cursed your country go around handing out benevolent favors?

Small sparks jumped to life on Death’s arms before I could respond, and the deity spun around, agitated.

“Charon grows impatient. Think of what I’ve said. I’ll return soon.”

Lightning struck the ground, inches from my face, and Death vanished. The only sign she’d been present at all was a small tendril of white smoke rising from where the lightning had hit the Meadow.

I stared at the spot where the deity had stood, cursing the missed opportunity.

Orion laid a hand on my shoulder.

“Don’t worry. She’ll return. We’ll ask about your father then.”

I sank into him, and he wrapped his arm around my shoulder.

“Come on. Let’s get back to work.”

I watched the fading smoke.

“What she said about stopping Charon’s coup—does that have anything to do with Charon’s own plans for his centennial hour?”

Orion grimaced, his arm tightening around me.

“You can’t say, can you?”

He shook his head, the movement jerky.

“Just this. If we can help Death, it would be best for us all, and anyone in Emrys we care about.”

As we approached the Meadow, he slowly relaxed again, but I could tell it hurt him. Whatever Charon did, whatever power the god had to force him to stay silent, it was a kind of torture .

I would have helped Death anyway, for myself and my father, but I wanted to help her even more for Orion.

Charon had tormented the Head Shade for a lifetime, and if I could manage it, he would face consequences equal to the crime.

With a god on our side, it might just be possible.

By mid-February, according to my tally of the days, we’d searched a good portion of the Shades. When we stopped to rest, we would talk, or read. Orion had noticed how much I loved the books in his home and had taken to bringing one along in his pack with our food.

The more time we spent together, the more Orion opened up. I’d seen a reduction in his somber expressions, and he’d begun sharing his experience without my prodding or carefully navigating around the conversation.

“I only met Death a couple of decades ago. As you can imagine, I was thrilled to have someone else to talk to. I even asked her to take me with her,” he admitted.

Two competing emotions shot through me. Wanting Death, wanting to end the solitary existence he’d had here …

I could understand it, even if I hated it.

I only wished he’d had someone here with him sooner.

There was a smaller part of me, though, that felt a pang of jealousy.

Ridiculous. I had no claim on Orion, and he hadn’t even been speaking of the god in a romantic way.

“She said no?”

“She said she wasn’t able to. The gods have their own rules, or laws.

Whether they are bound by them physically, or they just adhere to them, they’ve not bothered to tell me.

But she was here looking into the hour and wanted my help dismantling that.

I was only too happy to offer it. In exchange, she said once it was over the Shades could all be freed. ”

“And Charon doesn’t suspect the two of you?”

“Death thinks he’s too prideful, lulled into a false sense of security.

At first, the Unseen Hour was as much a secret as Charon hoped.

Somehow, with his fog and his freezing of time, I think he kept its existence concealed from her and the other gods.

Maybe the other deities just weren’t that watchful of what happened in Rayus.

She’s never told me how she was tipped off, but I’ve got to imagine that eventually the number of souls not entering her realm as expected would have raised an alarm. ”

“And have you met any of the other gods? Are they helping as well?” I scooted closer, taking a piece of fruit from him.

“No, and Death only speaks of them in vague terms. It’s difficult to discern if she has favorites, but she most certainly wants to stop Charon.

The whole Unseen Hour, and all the collected Shades, are meant to rival her and her power in some way, but she found out before Charon could act.

Charon has his own plans for this hundredth hour, but there’s no way Death will stand by, not when she’s at risk. ”

He tensed up for a moment, then took a breath and relaxed. I guessed that last bit was something Charon had tried to keep silent. Maybe if Death had reiterated it, that made it easier for him to share without whatever painful consequences Charon caused?

“Is he trying … to overthrow Death, or take her place?”

I’d done what I could over the past several weeks to take the things Orion could tell me and collect them. Small clues and puzzle pieces.

He grimaced, giving a curt nod.

I gasped.

“He can’t do that!” From my brief encounter with Death, and what I’d been told about Charon, I could only imagine him exerting his influence outside the bounds of his hour. To have that sort of terror as the norm year-round?

Unfathomable. And we couldn’t allow it to happen.

Orion bit into a crisp vegetable as vibrantly orange as a carrot but much sharper in taste.

“And how do you help Death?” I asked, hoping that topic wouldn’t cause him any discomfort.

“There’s things she’s asked about over the years.

Tidbits about Charon’s residence, the Ether.

She can make short forays here, but she can’t get into his more intensely warded areas.

I, on the other hand, am invited in. And when I’m around her it becomes easier to discuss the things Charon would rather I keep quiet.

Sometimes the gods’ powers come in handy that way. ”

Up to this point, I’d only wanted to avoid the gods’ wrath. Earn their favor if it helped us.

But I found myself wishing I could help him the same way a god had the ability to do.